Balancing protection of aquifer, quarries

Updated 8:54 pm, Tuesday, June 19, 2012

One of the lucky geological features of the San Antonio area that has helped the city grow is its vast amount of limestone.

The limestone not only filters Edwards Aquifer water, it provides a local source for cement, the main ingredient for concrete.

The San Antonio-based Edwards Aquifer Authority and the Texas Aggregates & Concrete Association, based in Austin, are in the midst of a rule-making process that would balance aquifer protection with continued quarry operations to help accommodate future San Antonio-area business and population growth.

The issue concerns aboveground fuel storage tanks. Limestone quarry operations need the tanks to power the vehicles that transport large limestone chunks to the crushers, a step in making cement.

Most Popular

The Edwards agency several months ago proposed a rule that would set up a cap-and-trade system whereby fuel storage capacity could be traded between quarry companies while keeping a limit on the total amount of capacity at current levels, said Richard Szecsy, Texas Aggregates & Concrete Association president.

Quarry operators happen to be the largest owners of aboveground fuel storage tanks in this area, Szecsy said.

Association members actually could live with that rule. When more limestone was needed and operations had to expand, the quarry operators — 72 of them have permits to operate in the Edwards area — always could bring in mobile fuel tankers to add to that aboveground storage capacity.

But the association believes mobile fuel tankers are not what the Edwards agency wants to have operating in the recharge zone.

Statistics show environmentally hazardous spills are more likely when storage tanks are moving on wheels than with the fixed, aboveground, double-walled storage tanks inside containment walls capable of holding 150 percent of the tank fuel in case of a leak.

So the association went to the Edwards agency in March to express concern about the risks of mobile storage.

After that presentation, a second option was added: allowing additional fixed fuel storage tanks over the recharge zone. The second option would reduce the number of mobile fuel tankers, helping air quality and cutting down the chance for spills.

The 15 voting members of the Edwards board have started public hearings on the matter. The last two are set for June 27 in Hondo and June 28 in San Antonio. The public comment period on the rules options expires in July. The board could make a decision as early as August.

EAA Interim General Manager Roland Ruiz said the initial rule change proposal was part of a review of agency rules after years of managing aquifer protection.

“This is a public process because we don't want to operate in a vacuum,” Ruiz said. “We are operating the process in a manner to be responsive to the regulated, the industries, and to be reasonable while assuring the same level of protection to the aquifer itself.”

The Edwards agency directors need to look hard at the risk of mobile fuel tankers. The cement industry knows firsthand which fuel storage option is safer. The cement industry is critical to the area's economic future and deserves flexibility to meet demand for future construction.